Okay, chapter 12 is now complete! Here, we see Tara returning to New York for a short holiday, only to find things are just as complicated there than it is in Japan! I introduce Tara's friends in this chapter, including Laura. There won't be any Kampfer activity here, or in the next chapter, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. I end on a slight cliff hanger as well.

So, I promised you an announcement regarding the future of this fanfic in this chapter. There are only another three chapters to go until the events of the anime are done with, after all. Well, after those three chapters, that'll be the end of Battle Against Fate.

But that won't be the end of the story. Far from it.

You see, I'm intending to make a trilogy of this story. The first part is, of course, the very fanfic you're now reading, and focuses on the events of the anime. The other two parts will take the story in a whole new direction. So, what do I have planned? That would be telling, but I will say that it'll be a darker, more supernatural take on the Kampfer universe, though it'll still keep the spirit of the franchise, don't worry about that.

That's all I'm going to reveal for now, but I'll explain a little more details in the next chapter.

As ever, please read and review.

Disclaimer- I do not own Kampfer.

Chapter twelve- Homecoming

It was late in the afternoon as I looked out through the exit at JFK Airport. Watching the traffic go along the road outside, I took another sip out of the bottle of Sprite I'd just bought from the nearby vending machine, and breathed in the familiar New York air. It felt so nice to be back. Living in Japan was good and all, but sometimes there's just no place like home. Especially after everything that happened to me since I moved. I went through so much- becoming a Kampfer, getting into various scrapes, finding my confidence etc, that I was looking forward even more to coming back here. Maybe now I could finally get some R & R. Can't say I hadn't earned it. Then again, my mind was still mostly fretting about Megumi. I still felt so mixed up and confused about my feelings towards her.

"Hey! Are we there yet?" came the muffled voice coming from my backpack. Yes, I bought Pierced Sea Turtle with me. I didn't fully trust her being alone for a week at home while we were away. No telling what she would have gotten up to…

"We've been here for about an hour or so." I said. "Now be quiet! People will look at me and think I'm crazy for talking to my backpack!"

"Whatever. Sure is noisy around here. What makes this place so awesome, anyway?"

I said nothing. Instead, I removed my backpack and gave it a good shake, knowing that it would give Pierced Sea Turtle something of a headache. Yup, nothing like a little plushie abuse to cheer me up! Just then, I saw Mom and Dad come down the corridor towards me, carrying our suitcases.

"Ha-ha, I know you've been looking forward to coming back, but you should at least slow down. Your father and I can't keep up!" said Mom.

"Yeah, sorry about that." I replied, taking my own suitcase from Dad. "I did kinda rush ahead… So when's Cassie coming to pick us up?"

"She said she'd be here at about five, and it's about ten to five now, so she shouldn't be much longer. I haven't heard about any traffic jams, so she shouldn't be any problems getting here."

We would be spending the week at my sister's apartment. It was pretty big and fancy, so there would be enough space for three extra people to sleep in. It'd also be ideal, as I badly wanted to talk to Cassie about my current problem… I just hoped that she wouldn't be late picking us up. Oh come on, what was I worrying about? This was Cassie! Whenever we needed her, she'd always stop what she's doing and come for us! So why should today be any different? I rested my case- no sooner had I thought that, a familiar blue BMW stopped by the airport exit. It was her! Cassie came out of the vehicle's door and gave me a smile.

"Hi Tara. How've you been?" she asked, walking up to me and giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"Fine, thanks. Japan's been pretty awesome!"

"Glad to hear it. I'm sure you'll tell me more later. Can't wait to hear what you've been up to!" said Cassie, before walking over to Mom and Dad and giving them hugs.

"Hi. You both okay? Your new job going alright, Mom?"

"Everything's going fine, Cassie, especially at work." said Mom. "You been working today?"

"Nah, I made sure I had no jobs today so I could pick you up. Anyway, can I take your bags? I'll just load them up, and we'll be on our way."

"Sure." said Dad, handing Cassie the suitcases. She took them over to her car, lifted up the boot and placed them inside. The boot was big enough to fit them in, which was no surprise. Since she uses a lot of equipment in her job, she needed a big boot to hold it all. Cassie walked over to me again.

"Can I take your backpack too? It'll fit, don't worry about that."

"It's no worry. Here, take it." I said as I gave my backpack to her. As she took it, she took a quick look at my wrist.

"Hey, that's a nice bracelet you're wearing. You got that while you were over there, I presume?"

Figures that she'd notice my bracelet. She would have done sooner or later, though.

"Yeah, I did. I also got this cute hair clip. See?" I said, showing her the clip I had in my hair.

"Oh yeah. It's really adorable. Suits you." Cassie looked me in the eyes for little while.

"Hm? Is there something on my face?" I asked.

"No. It's just that… You seem stronger than you did before you left."

"Stronger? How so?"

"I don't know. It's like… You have more confidence. It looks like you've been through a lot since you moved to Japan, and you've become a stronger person because of it. I can't explain it that well, but I can see a real change in you. You're not the same person you were a few months back."

That, I think, was a huge understatement. But I wasn't about to tell Cassie about everything that happened since I moved to Japan. Even if I did, even she would think I was crazy.

"Anyway, you should probably take that with a pinch of salt." Cassie said. "I think we should get going. It's going to be another forty minutes or so until we get back to my place, so the sooner we leave, the sooner we get there."

"Sounds good to me. Let's get going." I said.

…...

As we drove through the familiar sights of New York, Cassie was talking with my parents about how they were doing, how they were getting on with their jobs, etc. I wasn't really listening, though. All I was doing was gazing at my bracelet, lost in my own thoughts. Even back home, I couldn't help but wonder about this whole Kampfer thing. There was still so many unanswered questions, especially now with the white Kampfers on the scene. I wondered if we would ever find out the truth about why we're fighting, and if there was a way of putting an end to it. Another thing had also crossed my mind- are there any Kampfers here as well? Are these fights just taking place in Japan, or are they being fought worldwide? Well, I'd probably find out soon enough. I also wondered how much longer I could keep this a secret, too. I'd been lucky so far, but could I really keep it up? My thoughts were finally interrupted by Mom's voice.

"Hello? Tara? I'm asking you a question…"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. Kinda deep in thought back there… Um, what did you say, sorry?"

"Didn't you say it was your friend Akane who was going on a date with that Natsuru boy?"

Oh yeah, that's right! Akane called me right before I left to say she asked Natsuru out on a date! At gunpoint, I'm willing to bet…

"Yeah. I think they're going to the beach or something."

"I thought he was going out with that Shizuku though? Did they break up or something?" asked Dad.

"It's… complicated. Let's just say Natsuru's been pretty popular with the girls lately…" I said.

"He must be very lucky." laughed Mom. If by lucky, you mean of the bad variety, then yes, I suppose he is…

"What about that other girl you're friends with? Megumi, wasn't it?" asked Cassie. That jolted me up quite a bit.

"Um… Well…" I mumbled.

"Laura showed me that picture from the Cultural Festival with her in it. She's the one with the purple pigtails, right?"

"Y-yeah, that's her. Wearing the Gothic Lolita dress…" I said.

"Yeah, I thought so. I gotta say, she is gorgeous! Her boyfriend must be very lucky to have her!"

"Umm… She doesn't have a boyfriend…"

"Really? A beautiful girl like her? That's a surprise. I'd have thought someone like her could have any boy she wanted."

True enough, she could. Very easily, in fact. But she doesn't want a boy- she wants me! I wonder how Cassie's going to react when I tell her that… Not just yet, though. I really need to get her alone before I can talk about all this. No need to think about that until I settle down at Cassie's apartment.…

"I was quite surprised myself, actually." said Mom. "She's so pretty, yet she seems to be all alone in the world. She lives on her own, and she's not dating anyone. It seems so sad…"

"Yeah, apparently her parents died when she was fifteen." said Dad. "Quite how she's managed to cope on her own for all that time is beyond me."

I kept quiet. I wasn't too keen on talking about Megumi, as it was just a reminder of the messed up feelings inside me right now. I decided to zone out again. Try not to think about it for now. And forget about anything Kampfer related too. Really should have taken my MP3 player out of my backpack before I gave it to Cassie… I decided to think about Laura and the rest of the gang. I couldn't wait to see them again. I also put a little thought into where else I wanted to go during the week. Central Park was a given, as was Times Square, maybe even Nintendo World- been a while since I've been there! Eventually, I was woken up, so to speak, by Cassie's voice.

"You still in there, Tara? We're home!"

"Oh? Okay." I said, shaking my head to get myself back to reality. The car had stopped near the apartment block where Cassie lived. Mom and Dad had already gotten out and were getting their bags out from the boot.

"Ha-ha, it's amazing how much time you spend in that head of yours! You got a lot on your mind?"

"Yeah. I was just thinking about what I'm gonna be doing this week. And about how much I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again!"

"Yeah, well, you can think about that later. Right now, just concentrate on settling in, eh?"

I just smiled at Cassie as I got out of the car and grabbed my backpack from the boot. Cassie locked up and we both headed towards our parents, who were waiting for us near the entrance of the block. After taking the elevator up to the ninth floor, we all walked down to the end of the corridor, where Cassie's apartment was. Cassie unlocked the door, and we walked in, all happy to finally be able to sit back and relax. Looking around, I saw that nothing had particularly changed from the last time I was here. The main room was about twice the size of Megumi's sitting room, with the same grassy green carpet that I remembered, and the fancy patterned wallpaper on the walls. To my left, I saw the TV, along with the large cream coloured couch, along with several other seats of the same colour. The TV itself was a 32 inch HD model, and was connected to various devices and games consoles- including Dad's old Sega Genesis. Sweet, looks like she managed to dig that up! To my right, I saw the kitchen, which had a swanky looking oven, along with the usual microwave, toaster and kitchen utensils. There was also a breakfast bar in the centre of the kitchen as well. Ahead of me, were the doors to the bedrooms, with the door to the bathroom on the left.. It was such a nice, welcoming place.

"So, you'll be staying in the same places as you were the last time you were here." said Cassie. "Mom and Dad have the room on the left, you'll have the room on the right, and I'll be sleeping on the couch."

"Really?" I said. "You sure you want to do that? I'd feel really bad if-"

"Don't worry about it. Mom and Dad's room is the only one with a double bed, and there's only a single bed in mine. I'm used to sleeping on the couch anyway, so it's no biggie. Really!"

"If you say so…" I still felt pretty bad about Cassie having to sleep on the couch, but I suppose there's not much else that could be done about that. I decided to head into my room and unpack everything. Mom had already put my suitcase in there, so at least I didn't have to worry about dragging it in there. I opened up my backpack and took out Pierced Sea Turtle.

"Finally! You have no idea how hot and cramped it is in there!" she said.

"Can you do me a favour while we're here? Try not to talk. My parents are next door, and they could easily hear you from there! So PLEASE behave yourself, okay?"

"Fine. Damn, this trip's gonna be boring…"

As I unpacked the rest of my stuff, I heard a knock on the door. I answered it to se Cassie holding a carrier bag.

"Hey, I just wanted to know if you wanted these. They're some of my old clothes that were lying around and not getting used. I think you'd look quite good in them. Try them on sometime, okay?"

"Oh, sure. Thanks Cassie. I'll check them out tomorrow, then." I took the carrier bag from Cassie, who then took a quick look around the room and saw Pierced Sea Turtle.

"Oh! You have one of those Entrails Animals? Cool, I always wanted one myself!"

You're joking, right?

"Uh, yeah. This one was given to me, though. I didn't actually buy it." I said.

"Oh, right. It's still awesome though. Anyway, I'll be preparing dinner soon. I'm sure you must be hungry, right?"

"You know it. Can't wait to see what you're making!"

Cassie, unlike me, was a great cook. Every time we came over, she always took the time to make some amazing meals. It was always going to be one of the highlights of this trip for me! That night, she made a beautiful lasagne, along with some boiled potatoes and some vegetables. We spent the whole of dinner chatting away with each other, while the rest of the evening was spent washing up and watching TV. I was pretty tired and jetlagged after our long journey home, so I decided to go to bed early. I was already looking forward to tomorrow, and I wanted to be at my best in the morning.

…...

As I woke up the following morning, the smell of bacon wafted into my nose. Guess Cassie was making breakfast. I got out of bed, put on my dressing gown and walked out of the bedroom door to the kitchen, expecting to see Cassie at the stove. But she wasn't. Instead, I was surprised to see Megumi standing there, holding a frying pan with some bacon and sausages on it. She was wearing an apron, and… well, not much else, actually. In fact, apart from her bracelet, she wasn't wearing anything at all!

"Tara! Good timing! Breakfast is ready!" she said, sweetly. Once again, I was drawn to her fantastic body- I never realised what a curvy backside she had…

"Megumi? What are you doing here?"

"That's not important right now." she said, putting the contents of the pan onto a plate and then making her way towards me. "Here. I know how much you love your bacon and sausages in the morning."

Megumi bent down to place the plate on the bar, and in doing so, showed off a very impressive amount of cleavage. I was starting to get all flustered again…

"Uh… Why aren't you wearing any clothes over that apron?"

"I don't have to, silly." Megumi said, while gently sliding her index finger down my nose. "My body is far too sexy to keep under wraps. Tell you what-when you're done eating, I can take the apron off as well…"

Wow… This was getting too much.

"Then again, how about I take it off now?"

Megumi undid her apron, though she still held it in place with her arms. Her boobs were nicely squished underneath it, even more so when she pushed them up. She looked so sexy… Suddenly, everything went white, and the next thing I knew, I was back in bed. Another dream… Damn, that turned me on. That tears it- I'm talking to Cassie about this tonight! As I tried to bring myself together, my attention turned towards the smell of bacon that was coming from the kitchen. Déjà vu, anyone?

Once again, I put on my dressing gown and went out the bedroom door to the kitchen. This time around, Cassie really was at the stove.

"Morning Tara." she said. "Did you have a good night's sleep?"

"I guess you could say that. You making breakfast?"

"Uh huh. bacon and sausages- your favourite! Want some?"

To be honest, after that dream I just had, I'd been put right off bacon and sausages for now.

"You know what, I think I'll pass. Some cereal will do me right now…"

"Okay, but all I have is Corn Flakes right now." said Cassie. "I can get something else today, if you'd like…"

"That'll do, thanks. Think I'll have some toast as well…"

I spent the next hour eating my breakfast and getting washed and dressed. Mom and Dad had also woken up while I was in the shower, and they were eating by the time I was out. Ducking back into my room, I threw the towel I had around my hair over Pierced Sea Turtle and set about drying my hair. After that, I got dressed, deciding to wear the clothes that Cassie gave me. I looked at myself in the mirror after I put them on- not bad, actually. The jeans were fairly tight, but they fit quite nicely, and hugged my figure well too. The orange top was a little skimpy. Wearing it showed off my bare midriff, while the top was fairly low cut, revealing some rather attractive cleavage. Nonetheless, I felt it looked good. It'd be good for the summer, at the very least. Now that I was dressed, I decided to head out of the apartment, as I already knew what I'd be doing today.

"I'm going out now." I called out to everyone. "I'm going to meet up with my friends for a while."

"Okay." said Mom, right before noticing my new outfit. "Wow, you look very beautiful in those clothes."

"Thanks. Cassie gave them to me."

"It's very nice." said Dad. "You'll have no trouble getting a boyfriend wearing those!"

Uh… Thanks Dad. Remind me that it's actually another girl I'm in love with at the moment, why don't you?

"I, uh… I guess not. See you all later." I said, sheepishly.

…...

I made my way downtown, through the ever familiar streets. It was nearly 10 o' clock as I left the apartment, so I was making good time. Hopefully it should be open by now, and everyone'll be there… As I got nearer to my destination, I suddenly heard a few voices nearby- voices I recognised.

"For fuck's sake, why do you keep picking on her? Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Hey, it's not my fault she's so worthless! She brought it on herself!"

"What, just because she even exists? If you don't like someone, that's your problem. But that doesn't give you an excuse to be a bully…"

I looked over and saw three people, two of which, a boy and a girl, were arguing. The other girl was keeping quiet, hiding behind the boy. I knew all three of them from my old high school- the boy, with the black spiky hair, was Steve, while the short haired brunette hiding behind him was Sara. Both of them were among my best friends here. Last, and most definitely least, was Josie, whose shoulder length hair was a similar colour to Sara's only a little darker. Josie always had a bit of a reputation for being a real bitch to people, and she and her lackeys were constantly picking on Sara. Remember back when I said I knew firsthand the damage that bullying causes? That was because of the way Sara was treated. As a result of constant bullying, she'd become shy and withdrawn, even emotionally fragile. She was a completely different person than she was when I first met her. Steve was always a good guy, always sticking up for other people as he was in this instant. He's a pretty good martial artist, actually- he was pretty much the guy who did the most to defend us when we were ever in trouble, which thankfully wasn't often. In any case, this was normally the kind of situation where I'd just stand back and watch, due to my cowardice back then. But I'm no longer a coward, am I? I walked right over to the scene to lend a hand.

"Steve's got a point, you know." I said as I approached them. "What gives you the right to pick on her?"

Everyone turned around, and were quite surprised to see me.

"W-whoa! Taz! Wasn't expecting to see you back so soon!" said Steve.

"Hmph! And just what are YOU doing here, Goodman?" said Josie. "Did Geek Country turn out to be too creepy for you?"

"Actually," I said, "I'm here on vacation for a week, and I'm here to catch up on things. But it looks like some things never change… So, you ARE going to leave Sara alone, aren't you?"

"Heh." Josie snorted. "So the cowardly lion finally found some courage. How much did you have to twist the Wizard Of Oz's arm to give you that?"

"You'd be surprised with how much I've changed over the last few months." I said. "You should walk away now, while you still have the chance. Trust me, it's for your own good. You don't want to get on my bad side any more than you already have."

"I'm so terrified. Whatever. It's not worth taking you both on right now. Later."

Josie turned around and walked away. I seriously hate her… I turned around to Sara and Steve, neither of whom could believe what they just saw me do.

"Tara… You just…" said Sara.

"Okay, who are you, and what have you done with Taz?" said Steve. "The Taz we know would never stand up to anyone like you just did!"

"Nice to see you again too." I said. "Like I just said, I'm not quite the same person I was when I left."

"I'll say. Thank you so much for helping me." said Sara, before walking up to me and giving me a hug. "Wow, I love your new outfit. Your hairpin and bracelet are cool too. So, how've you been? We all really missed you!"

"Thanks. I really missed you guys too. I've been fine. If the fact that I'm a lot more confident doesn't say much, then what does? How about you? Are you guys doing alright?"

"I guess. About the same as usual. Josie won't stop picking on me, no change there."

"Yeah, only she seems to be getting nastier all the time." said Steve. "She's even worse than she was before. She really needs the fear of God put into her, otherwise… Say, Taz- are you going to Ray's?"

"Of course! Do you know if the others are there at the moment?"

"I don't, no." said Sara. "I was on my way there myself when I ran into Josie. Luckily, Steve showed up right after she started picking on me again, which I was grateful for. Of course, I'm grateful for you as well, Taz!"

"No problem." I said. "How about we all go together, then?"

"Sounds good." said Steve. "Let's make a move."

…...

The three of us finally arrived at our destination- Ray's Pizza Parlour. This was our main hangout, mainly because it was run by the father of another of my friends. I agreed to stay outside briefly as Steve and Sara went in to say hi to everyone, so I would surprise everyone.

"Hey guys, what took you so long?" came a female voice from inside. That was Jane, who was pretty much the gossipy one, although she was also a very caring person. She also happened to be the aforementioned friend whose father runs the place. Come to think of it, Laura said she was dating Steve, didn't she? I wondered if they were still an item.

"Sorry about that." said Steve. "Sara was unlucky enough to run into Josie again, so I stopped to help her out."

"Awww, that's sweet of you." Jane replied. "That's why I love you so much…"

"Well, don't just praise me. Someone else came along to help as well. In fact, she's waiting outside." said Steve, right before calling out to me.

"Hey! You can come in now!"

Right on cue, I walked in, and everyone looked at first surprised, then happy.

"Taz! You're back! Oh, it's so awesome to see you again, girlfriend!" said Jane, getting out of her seat to give me a hug. She hadn't changed one bit. Her dark blonde hair still just stopped above her hips, and she was still high spirited. Looking around, I also saw Chris sitting down, smiling. I'd been friends with him for such a long time, shortly after I made friends with Laura. That was in Kindergarten, at the very least. There wasn't much the three of us didn't do together, even as we grew up. I think he may well have been the happiest to see me… Speaking of Laura, I didn't see her around anywhere… My attention immediately turned towards Jane again.

"Geez, your boobs have grown again, haven't they?" she said. "You look hotter than ever! And that outfit really brings out your sexy side, too."

"Thanks… I think…" I said. She was always like that. She knew how much attention I got at school, and she was always trying to get me to look a lot sexier, so I could attract more boys. If only she knew of the other person I managed to attract…

"Um, so, where's Laura? Is she here too?" I said, trying to divert attention away from my figure. Plus, I really was curious about Laura.

"Nope." said Chris, running his hand through his short brown hair. "Dunno where she is right now. She said she'd join us soon, but she didn't say how soon."

Speak of the devil. At that point, the door opened, and in walked a girl with light red hair that was a little longer than Sara's. She finally showed up!

"Hey, sorry I'm late." she said. "I overslept a little, and- No way! Taz! You're back already? We weren't expecting you back for another few weeks!"

"Hi Laura." I said, as she gave me a hug. "How are you right now?"

"I'm good, thanks. And you? I can't wait to hear about everything you've been up to since you moved!"

"I'm okay too. And yeah, it's been pretty eventful over in Japan. We have plenty of time to talk about that though, right?"

"We sure do." said Laura. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you again! And it's a funny thing you're here, too- I've actually brought those photos from your festival with me! This is the first time everyone's seen them, except for Cassie…"

Of course. Cassie did say Laura showed her those pictures. Suddenly, she shoved one of the photos in my face. It was the one of me with Megumi and Shizuku.

"I really wanted to ask you about this one." she said. "The person on the left is the president of your school's student council right? And I have to say, that cat maid costume is so adorable!"

"Uh… Yeah, that's the student council president on the left. Shizuku Sango. And I do appreciate the comment on my costume, even though I had no say in it…"

Laura passed the photo around to everyone else. Immediately, they all turned their attention to the other girl in it.

"Wow, who's the hottie on the right?" said Steve. "She's so gorgeous!"

"That's… Megumi, I believe?" said Laura. "That friend Tara made who's into all the Gothic Lolita stuff. I agree with you, Steve- she's unbelievably pretty. You've made some good friends there, Taz!"

"I guess I have. So, what have you guys been up to lately? Anything good? Wasn't the New York Comic Con on recently? Did you guys go?"

"Yeah, we did." said Laura. We even had a little cosplay group, with a little help from Cassie. Hey, why don't we all sit down, and we can talk about it a little more?"

"I can go with that." said Jane. "I could do with a good sit."

"You've only just got up." said Chris.

"I know, but still… I feel like sitting down now."

"Ha-ha, I hate to think what you'll be like when you're older!" said Sara.

We all sat down at the table and started talking about what had been going on in my absence, and about my new life in Japan. Of course, I wasn't about to talk about becoming a Kampfer, but there was still a lot I could talk to them about. Naturally, there were a few comments about my bracelet, but I told everyone what I told my parents- that I bought it on a shopping trip. While we were talking, Jane's dad Ray offered us a pizza on the house- an offer we simply couldn't refuse. Pleasant conversation, free pizza… It was just like the good old days. At about half past one in the afternoon, Laura decided to leave, and asked me if I wanted to go to the Rockefeller Centre with her. I was going to go anyway, and it wasn't too far from here, so I said yes. We said our goodbyes to the rest of the gang and arranged to meet with them again at Central Park the next morning.

…...

"Whatever. Even now, I still find it hard to believe you have a pet tarantula named Holly…" I said as Laura and I walked to the Rockefeller Centre. We were discussing if I had any pets since I moved to Japan, which I didn't. I suppose Pierced Sea Turtle didn't count. This led to a talk about some of Laura's more unusual tastes. She loves spiders, for example. And other creepy crawlies. She likes cute animals too, but it's the bugs she's always been most interested in.

"I guess it's not a conventional pet, is it? Most people who see her run off in an instant, and never come into the living room again. I think even Jane gets a little nervous around her. I don't know why, as she isn't poisonous- I wouldn't be allowed to have her if she was!"

"Yeah, but she's not the most attractive of creatures, is she? I mean, you may think otherwise, but most people are scared pretty shitless of them."

"And that's a shame. Speaking of attractive creatures… Do you have a boyfriend yet? You know, in Japan?"

I suddenly jumped. Why'd she have to bring THAT up?

"U-uh… Well… sort of…"

"Really?" Laura's eyes lit up as I said that. "Awesome! So who's the lucky guy? Come on, you can tell me!"

That made me think. Maybe I could talk to her about Megumi. Why wait until I can talk to Cassie? I mean, who knows? Maybe Laura can give me some advice. I stopped and put my hands on Laura's shoulders.

"Laura. You have to promise me you won't tell anyone about this, understand?"

"Sure. I can keep a secret. But why don't you want to tell anyone?"

"Alright. Then… The lucky guy is… Megumi."

"That's cool, I- wait- what? But Megumi's a girl, right?"

"Exactly. She's very much a girl."

Laura started to look a little confused.

"But that means… Geez… My god… You're in love with a girl? You've become a lesbian?"

"I don't know. I-I'm not sure. Last week, I had this erotic dream about her, and I loved it. But it also scared me. I've never felt this way about another girl. I always believed that my love would be, you know, male. I had a similar dream about her this morning as well, and it really turned me on. But I don't know if this is what I want…"

"Does Megumi love you?"

"Yes. I overheard her talk to one of my other friends- Akane- and she just poured her heart out about me. The worst thing is, before hand, I was so messed up over my feelings towards her, that I just told her to stay away from me. Now she's really upset, because she thinks she did something awful to me…"

"Wow. I still can't believe I'm hearing this. I never thought of you as being gay. Maybe you should lay off the anime for a while…"

I smiled a little.

"Gee, thanks for the advice, Oprah. Seriously, I'm at a total loss here. I know I need to apologise to her, but I still don't know if I can face her just yet. I don't know whether or not I really love her, or why I suddenly have these feelings- or why I'm fretting so much about it."

"Personally, I think it's down to the shock. You've always believed you're straight, right? Now, all of a sudden, you start to realise you're in love with this girl, and it's a real shock to you. I think that's why you're so confused. Because this realisation was so sudden. That's what I think, anyway. Do you really love her? If you ask me- and feel free to shoot me for saying something so corny- I think you need to listen to your heart on that one. If you really love her, you'll know. And hey- regardless on how you think, I'll always support you. After all, that's what friends are for, right?"

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Laura. I'm so glad I talked to you about it! But… Can you still not tell anyone about this? I don't know what everyone else's reaction to this will be…"

"My lips are sealed. I also think you should talk to your parents, and Cassie as well. I think you'll find they'll be a lot more helpful than you think."

"Heh, that's what Akane said, too. Yeah, I was going to talk to Cassie about it anyway, so maybe I'll talk to Mom and Dad as well. Anyway, I think we've talked enough about this. Maybe we should get moving again."

"Yeah. At this rate, it'll be too late to do anything. "

We both continued our way to the Rockefeller Centre, going back to our previous talk about Laura's tarantula. However, little did either of us know that someone had listened in on our conversation about Megumi- probably the last person who should have found out about it…

…...

We spent the next few hours wandering around the whole area around the Rockefeller Centre. We went around the NBC gift shop, where I bought some candy, as well as going to the Top Of The Rock. I always loved the view from up there, and being there with Laura made it even better. We also looked around some of the shops in the area, before finishing at Nintendo World. Unfortunately, there weren't any DS games that took my fancy, and none of the Wii games would work on the one I had back home. That was a shame, as the new Metroid game had been released, and I quite liked the look of it. Oh well, I could always get it when I got back home. I did, however, walk away with a Peach plushie, so that was good. While neither of us bought that much, we still enjoyed our time together, and it had been a memorable day. As the sun started to set, we both stood outside Nintendo World, about to part ways.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow at Central Park then." I said.

"Count on it. I can't wait! Oh, and do try and talk to your family about how you feel about Megumi, okay?"

"Yeah, I will. Don't worry about that. Anyway, see you tomorrow!"

"Bye!"

I waved goodbye to Laura as she walked off. I headed off in the opposite direction, towards Cassie's apartment. It'd take me about twenty five minutes to get there, if I really picked up the pace. About halfway through my journey, though, I was stopped by a familiar voice.

"Taz! Fancy running into you here!"

It was Chris. I wasn't expecting to run into him either.

"Oh, hey. On your way home?"

"Yup. I take it you are, too?"

"Uh huh. I'm staying at Cassie's place while I'm here."

"Thought you might. Sorry I didn't join you and Laura, but after what happened to Sara, she didn't want to go home alone. So we all went with her to make sure she got back okay. She did, in case you're wondering."

"Heh. That's just like you. Always putting the more helpless first. Glad she's okay now, in any case. Hey, I'll see you tomorrow, right?

"Sure. See you then!"

As I began to walk away, Chris called out again.

"Oh- wait a second!"

Chris started to look like he didn't know what to say.

"What's up?"

"Well, there's something I want to say. I really wanted to tell you this for a long time, but by the time I finally found it in me to say it, you were about to move away. It probably won't do me any good to say it now, but I still need to get it off my chest…"

All of a sudden, this was stating to look familiar. All the way back to the end of the Cultural Festival, when Megumi was trying to…

"Wait a second- Chris? You mean-"

"Yeah. Taz… I… I… love you."

I knew it! But I still couldn't believe he just said it… Well, that just made things more complicated.